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Design Principles For A Visual Programming Language in K12 Science - Sengupta 2011
Design Principles For A Visual Programming Language in K12 Science - Sengupta 2011
Design Principles for a Visual Programming Language to Integrate Agent-Based Modeling in K-12 Science
Pratim Sengupta Mind, Matter & Media Lab, Vanderbilt University pratim.sengupta@vanderbilt.edu
Despite arguments supporting the pedagogical benefits of using agent-based computer modeling and programming (ABMP) as the medium to learn science, ABMP remains yet to be well-integrated with K12 science. To address this issue, I present ViMaP, a new, agent-based visual-and-tactile programming language, its design principles, and also provide evidence for the effectiveness of these principles.
1 Introduction
Despite arguments supporting the pedagogical benefits of using agent-based computer modeling and programming (ABMP) as the medium to learn science [1][3][4], ABMP remains yet to be well-integrated with K12 science. To address this issue, I present ViMaP [2], a new, agent-based visual-and-tactile programming language, its design principles, and also provide evidence for their effectiveness.
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parts: construction-world (C-World) where the learner constructs his or her program, and enactment world (E-World), where a protean computational agent the classic Logo turtle (or multiple agents (turtles)) - carry out the learners commands through movement in representational space. Programming commands in C-World are also represented visually as turtles, which can be dragged and moved by mouse-clicks.
Selected Bibliography
[1] Repenning, A., & Sumner, T., 1995, Agentsheets: A medium for creating domain-oriented languages. Computer, 28(3), 17-25. [2] Sengupta, P. & Wright, M, 2010, ViMaP: Virtual Multi-Agent-based Programming Language, [Computer Software], Vanderbilt University. [3] Tisue, S. & Wilensky, U., 2004, NetLogo: A Simple Environment for Modeling Complexity. International Conference on Complex Systems, Boston, MA. [4] Sherin, B, et al., 1993, Dynaturtle revisited: Learning Physics Through Collaborative Design of a Computer Model, Interactive Learning Environments